The heat of the breeze whips at my face, mixed in with a smell of burnt flesh that stings my eyes. His hand rests against the rock, catching his breath as his curls fall in front of his face.
Tears stream down my cheeks as I sob, fighting the pain to fall on my knees due to the torturing pain of what feels like daggers jabbing into my spine repeatedly.
But that pain is nothing compared to the pain I feel in my heart. I can’t live without him.
Iwon’tlive without him.
“Koen!” I cry out, and he finally looks my way.
He pushes off of the boulder, tripping in the sand, but rushes straight towards me.
The distance between us is finally closing in as his arms wrap around me once more. Tightly.Desperately.
My fingers curl into his hair, and I weep into his shoulders as his hands rub against my hair. He inhales deeply, savoring myscent as my arms tighten around him. I nestle my nose into his neck, savoring the scent and warmth of the man I love.
Before one of us dies.
But the truth is, I am dead without him.
“It’s okay,” he whispers, hands gliding down my hair. “I am right here.”
“We… we must…” I stutter, choking on the words that need to escape my lips. But all I can do is sob.
He kisses my forehead. “I know,” he breathes out against my head. “I heard what she said.”
“We shouldn’t have returned.” I pull away and through blurred eyes filled with tears, I stare up at him. “We didn’t kill her.” A tear slides down my cheek.
His thumb catches it, whipping it gently away. “Lykia is wanting her revenge.”
“Who would kill her to set us up like this?” My hand trembles, resting over my lips as I try to control my breathing. “I can’t use my powers. The dragons aren’t hearing me. I cannot wield my fire. Something is wrong.”
His thick brows pull inward, gripping my arms tightly before he scans my body with his emerald eyes and gently turns me.
“Damn it.” His head falls down, and his back rises with a deep inhale. “Let me show you.”
He shifts me, and I can feel his finger grazing my spine before turning me once more.
His fingertips are filled with a black liquid mixed with a crimson-red hue. “It looks as if they took the lava from the Darklands and created something to weaken you.”
My eyes stare at his hands, watching the liquid drip from his hand. “How would you know this?”
His lips tug together. “Because the Darklands,my mother, was trying to create something similar.” He clears his throat, taking his other hand and rolling it into a fist. “Using darkmagic with the darkness that pulses through the lava to create a weapon against the Deskyiaras.”
Tears pour out from my eyes as I take my trembling hands to wipe them away.
“Why would they want to destroy my bloodline?”
He breathes out. “For the Deskyiara power. Your bloodline has always been the strongest connection to the Gods.” His eyes soften. “I wonder if the Royals found a way to absorb your gifts, to take them from you. I know they were working on this long before the last Deskyiara King and Queen died.”
“Enough talking!” Skie frantically belts from her chest. “Take the daggers from your sheaths, and attack!”
Our eyes meet before glancing down towards the silver daggers against our chest.
“I can’t. I won’t,” I stutter.
I back away from him, hands stretched outward before raising my chin towards the Queen.
“You've got it all wrong!” I bellow fiercely from the depths of my stomach. “We didn't do this!”
